JP5347667B2 - Robot hand and transfer robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transfer a substrate W while sufficiently preventing the substrate W from getting flawed even if a weight of the substrate W and acceleration/deceleration of a robot hand 1 increase. <P>SOLUTION: A hand body 7 is equipped with a plurality of contact pins 13 capable of coming into contact with a rear face of the substrate W. Suction holes 21 capable of sucking the air on the rear face of the substrate W are formed along a circumference of each contact pin 13 on the hand body 7. The respective suction holes 21 are connected with a blower 19 for sucking air. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot hand or the like that holds a back surface or a front surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate or a wafer substrate.

  A conventional general robot hand will be described with reference to FIG.

  Here, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional general robot hand.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional general robot hand 101 is one of the components of a transfer robot (handling robot) 103 used when transferring (handling) a substrate W such as a glass substrate, The back surface of the substrate W is held. The specific configuration of the conventional robot hand 101 is as follows.

  That is, the hand main body 107 is provided at the tip of the articulated robot arm 105 in the transfer robot 103, and the hand main body 107 includes a plurality of forks 109. In addition, a plurality of suction pads 111 capable of sucking the back surface of the substrate W are provided on the front surface of each fork 109 at intervals in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction of the fork 109). It is connected via an air pipe 115 to an ejector 113 (an example of a vacuum generator) that has a relationship and generates a vacuum pressure. Here, the plurality of ejectors 113 are mounted at appropriate positions of the robot arm 105 via mounting bases 117.

  Therefore, in order to transfer the substrate W from the first substrate position to the second substrate position, first, the tip of the robot arm 105 is moved closer to the first substrate position, and the plurality of forks 109 and the plurality of suction pads 111 are moved. It is located on the back side of the substrate W. Then, vacuum pressure is generated in the plurality of suction pads 111 by driving the plurality of ejectors 113, and the back surface of the substrate W is sucked by the plurality of suction pads 111. Thereby, the back surface of the substrate W can be held by the robot hand 101.

  After the back surface of the substrate W is held by the robot hand 101, the substrate W is transferred from the first substrate position to the second substrate position by bringing the tip of the robot arm 105 closer to the second substrate position. Then, the drive state of the robot hand 101 is released by stopping the drive of the plurality of ejectors 113 and releasing the suction state by the plurality of suction pads 111. Thereby, the substrate W is removed from the robot hand 101, and the transfer operation of the series of substrates W is completed.

  In addition, there exists a thing shown to patent document 1 as a prior art relevant to this invention.

Japanese Patent No. 3900288

  By the way, if the weight of the substrate W to be transferred and the acceleration / deceleration of the robot hand 101 (acceleration / deceleration of the tip of the robot arm 105) increase, the inertial force acting on the substrate W also increases. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a sufficient holding force of the robot hand 101 so that the substrate W being transferred does not fall from the robot hand 101.

  On the other hand, the holding force of the robot hand 101 is determined by the suction area of the suction pad 111, the ultimate negative pressure in the suction pad 111, and the like. As a result, the contact area between the robot hand 101 and the substrate W increases, and the substrate W is easily damaged.

  That is, when the weight of the substrate W and the acceleration / deceleration of the robot hand 101 are increased, there is a problem that it is difficult to stably transfer the substrate W while sufficiently suppressing the generation of scratches on the substrate W.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a robot hand or the like having a novel configuration that can solve the above-described problems.

A first feature of the present invention is a robot hand for holding a back surface or a front surface of a substrate, a hand main body, and a plurality of contact pins provided on the front surface of the hand main body and capable of contacting the back surface or the front surface of the substrate, A suction hole is formed around each contact pin on the surface of the hand body so as to be able to suck air on the back side or the front side of the substrate, and a space surrounding each contact pin is released. The gist is that each suction hole is connected to a suction device for sucking air.

  In the specification and claims of the present application, “provided” means not only directly provided but also indirectly provided via an interposed member such as a bracket. is there. The suction device includes a vacuum generator such as a vacuum pump and an ejector in addition to a blower (suction fan).

In order to transfer the substrate from the first substrate position to the second substrate position using the transfer robot equipped with the robot hand having the first characteristic at the tip portion of the robot arm, first, the tip portion of the robot arm is moved to the second substrate position. It is brought closer to the first substrate position, thereby positioning the hand body 及 beauty plurality of the contact pin on the back side or front side of the substrate. And the air | atmosphere of the back surface or the surface side of a board | substrate is suck | inhaled from the said some suction hole by the drive of the said suction device, and the back surface or the surface of a board | substrate is made to contact | abut to the said some contact pin. Thereby, the back surface or front surface of the substrate can be held by the robot hand.

  After the back surface or the front surface of the substrate is held by the robot hand, the substrate is transferred from the first substrate position to the second substrate position by bringing the tip of the robot arm closer to the second substrate position. Then, the holding state of the robot hand is released by stopping driving of the suction device and releasing the contact state with the plurality of contact pins. As a result, the substrate is removed from the robot hand, and the series of substrate transfer operations is completed.

  In short, since the hand main body is provided with a plurality of the contact pins, the suction holes are formed in the peripheral portions of the contact pins in the hand main body, and the suction holes are connected to the suction device. The holding force of the hand is determined by the suction flow rate of the air sucked by driving the suction device, and does not depend on the contact area (contact area) of the plurality of contact pins. Accordingly, even if the contact area of the plurality of contact pins, in other words, the contact area between the robot hand and the substrate is reduced, the robot hand is held by increasing the air suction flow rate by the suction device. Enough power can be secured.

  The gist of a second feature of the present invention is that a transfer robot (handling robot) used for transferring a substrate includes the robot hand having the first feature.

  According to the 2nd characteristic, there exists an effect | action similar to the effect | action by a 1st characteristic.

  According to the present invention, since the holding force of the robot hand can be sufficiently secured even if the contact area between the robot hand and the substrate is reduced, the weight of the substrate and the acceleration / deceleration of the robot hand are increased. However, the substrate can be stably transferred while sufficiently preventing the substrate from being damaged.

It is a perspective view of the robot hand concerning the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a partial plan view of the robot hand according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along IIB-IIB in FIG. FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are plan views showing other modes of the suction holes. It is a perspective view of the conventional common robot hand.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a robot hand 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is one of constituent elements of a transfer robot (handling robot) 3 used when transferring (handling) a substrate W such as a glass substrate. Thus, the back surface of the substrate W is held. The specific configuration of the robot hand 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows.

  That is, the hand main body 7 is provided at the front end portion of the articulated robot arm 5 in the transfer robot 3 via the wrist portion 9 having at least three degrees of freedom. The fork 11 is provided. The number of forks 11 is not limited to two and can be changed as appropriate.

  A plurality of contact pins 13 that can contact the back surface of the substrate W are provided on the front surface of each fork 11 at intervals in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction of the fork 11). The shape of the surface (contact surface) is circular. Note that the shape of the tip surface of the contact pin 13 may be a square shape or a triangular shape instead of a circular shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2B, a chamber 15 for storing air is formed inside each fork 11, and faces each contact pin 13 on the back surface of each fork 11. A mounting port (suction port) 17 is formed at the position. Further, on the back surface of each fork 11, a plurality (the same number as the contact pins 13) of blowers (suction fans) 19 are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction as suction devices for sucking air in the chamber 15. In other words, a blower (suction fan) 19 is provided at a position facing each contact pin 13 on the back surface of each fork 11 so as to cover the attachment port 17. Instead of providing the same number of blowers 19 as the contact pins 13 on the back of each fork 11, one blower 19 on the back of each fork 11 may be provided, or instead of the blower 19. A vacuum generator such as a vacuum pump or an ejector may be used as the suction device.

  Eight suction holes 21 capable of sucking air on the back surface side of the substrate W are formed at intervals in the circumferential direction on the peripheral edge (peripheral part) of each contact pin 13 on the surface of each fork 11. Each suction hole 21 communicates with the chamber 15 and is connected to the blower 19 through the chamber 15. In addition, the number of the suction holes 21 formed in the peripheral part of each contact pin 13 in the surface of each fork 11 is not restricted to eight, as shown to FIG. 3 (a) (b) (c). The shape of the suction hole 21 may be an arc shape or a ring shape as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C.

  Then, the effect | action and effect of embodiment of this invention are demonstrated.

  In order to transfer the substrate W from the first substrate position to the second substrate position, first, the tip of the robot arm 5 is moved closer to the first substrate position, and the hand body 7 and the plurality of contact pins 13 are moved to the substrate W. Located on the back side. Then, air on the back surface side of the substrate W is sucked from the plurality of suction holes 21 by driving the plurality of blowers 19, and the back surface of the substrate W is brought into contact with the plurality of contact pins 13. Thereby, the back surface of the substrate W can be held by the robot hand 1.

  After holding the back surface of the substrate W by the robot hand 1, the substrate W is transferred from the first substrate position to the second substrate position by bringing the tip of the robot arm 5 closer to the second substrate position. And the holding state of the robot hand 1 is cancelled | released by stopping the drive of the several air blower 19, and canceling | releasing the contact state with the several contact pin 13. FIG. As a result, the substrate W is removed from the robot hand 1 and a series of substrate transfer operations is completed.

  In short, a plurality of contact pins 13 are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction on the surface of each fork 11, and a plurality of suction holes 21 are formed on the peripheral edge of each contact pin 13 on the surface of each fork 11. Since the suction hole 21 is connected to the blower 19, the holding force of the robot hand 1 is determined by the suction flow rate of air sucked by driving the plurality of blowers 19, and the contact area of the plurality of contact pins 13. No longer depends on (contact area). Thereby, even if the contact area of the plurality of contact pins 13, in other words, the contact area between the robot hand 1 and the substrate W is reduced, by increasing the air suction flow rate by the plurality of blowers 19, the robot A sufficient holding force of the hand 1 can be ensured. In particular, since the blower 19 is provided at a position opposite to each contact pin 13 on the back surface of each fork 11, the suction efficiency of the blower 19 is increased, and the holding force of the robot hand 1 is more sufficiently secured. can do.

  Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, even if the contact area between the robot hand 1 and the substrate W is reduced, the holding force of the robot hand 1 can be more sufficiently ensured. Even if the acceleration / deceleration of the hand 1 (acceleration at the tip of the robot arm 5) increases, the substrate W can be stably transferred while sufficiently suppressing the occurrence of scratches on the substrate W.

  The present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiment. For example, the robot hand 1 may be configured to hold the front surface of the substrate W instead of holding the back surface of the substrate W, or the hand body. Instead of including a plurality of forks 11, the hand main body 7 may be configured in a table shape or a lattice shape, and may be implemented in various other modes. Further, the scope of rights encompassed by the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

W substrate 1 Robot hand 3 Transfer robot 5 Robot arm 7 Hand body 9 Wrist part 11 Fork 13 Contact pin 15 Chamber 17 Mounting port 19 Blower 21 Suction hole

Claims (4)

In the robot hand that holds the back or front surface of the substrate,
The hand body,
A plurality of contact pins provided on the surface of the hand body and capable of contacting the back surface or the surface of the substrate;
A suction hole is formed around each contact pin on the surface of the hand body so that air on the back side or the front side of the substrate can be sucked in, and a space surrounding each contact pin is released. A robot hand characterized in that a hole is connected to a suction device for sucking air.   2. A chamber for storing air is formed inside the hand body, each suction hole is connected to the chamber, and each suction hole is connected to the suction device via the chamber. The robot hand described in 1.   The suction device is a blower, the number of the blowers is the same as the number of the contact pins, and the blower is provided at a position facing each contact pin in the hand body. The robot hand according to claim 2. In a transfer robot used for transferring a substrate,
A transfer robot comprising the robot hand according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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